BETTER SABRE THAN SORRY; OILERS PUSH FOR MORE TICKET SALES

          Including last night's Eastern Conference Final Game
     Three against the Maple Leafs and tomorrow's Game Four, the
     Sabres will "have sold roughly" $5M worth of tickets to
     their seven home playoff games, according to Allen Panzeri
     of the OTTAWA CITIZEN.  After expenses, the team has earned
     around $400,000 from each game for a total of $2.8M. The
     profits "will go at least part of the way toward cutting"
     the team's estimated $15M loss this season.  Sabres Dir of
     Communications Michael Gilbert: "Every playoff game does
     mean more revenue for us ... [but] it's not the level of
     profit most people assume.  When the bills are paid, we get
     40 cents of every dollar spent on tickets" (CITIZEN, 5/28).
          OILERS SPILL? In Edmonton, Jim Matheson reports that
     the Oilers are "struggling" to meet their goal of 13,000
     season tickets sold to qualify for the $2.5M as part of the
     NHL's Canadian Assistance Program.  Currently, the Oilers
     have sold 12,188 tickets, "which means they have to push
     hard before Monday's deadline" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 5/28).